Shit GPA from a shitty state school (English major). Took the LSAT on a bet this summer, and from lurking this forum am starting to think I might have a shot at a halfway decent school so I'm thinking about applying.

I have one Puerto Rican parent and one black parent by way of South America (I'm a dual citizen). Do I check Puerto Rican? Black? Hispanic? Apparently some of these schools prefer Puerto Rican to other Hispanics? (Should I post this in the URM forum?)

Softs: Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. Business proficiency in French and Hebrew. Super basic Arabic and German, though I likely wouldn't list those since my skills are so negligible.* Worked to pay my way through undergrad - got a National Science Foundation fellowship, worked in a hospital, and was on staff at an inner-city church. Oh, I passed the court interpreter exam but never actually got called to do it, but I think I am a certified interpreter, officially. I had an op-ed published in the Washington Post during college, do adcoms care about that stuff?

Grad school: Internships at Library of Congress and Congressional Research Service, temped in some law firm libraries and for a translation services company, work in a few special collections/archives, research assistant (co-authored 2 articles, pending publication). I'm graduating with ~3.9GPA with an MLIS (master of library/information science) focusing in law librarianship at supposedly the top-ranked school.

Would love any thoughts on whether those law school admissions counselors are worth it at all for splitters. Also, would it be worth retaking in pursuit of the mythical 180? Maybe taking one of those prep classes? Another consideration - I totally qualify for extended time (documented LD and ADHD) and didn't go through the accommodations process - do schools look down on you if you do?

* I'm real. English is my third language, I learned the others because of vague, amorphous grad school goals and to work in specific libraries (Greek and Latin probably not worth listing, amirite?) As far as my shitty grades, I just had shit going on and problems with getting health insurance that would cover my super expensive ADHD meds.

Thanks for any input you can offer! Sorry if this is TL;DR, thought you might enjoy a splitter.

UVA definitely gives preference to in-state students. I dunno. If I were you, I'd probably ED to UVA first. There's a big chance they drop you, though, just because they are kind of hard-ass about their 3.0 floor, and you're quite a bit below that. On the other hand, you're probably the single-highest scoring AA/PR for this upcoming cycle. So who knows.

Why no GMU? They seem pretty respected in DC area. Is GW really that much better? Am I being unreasonable in thinking I have a strong chance at GW and Georgetown? I feel like I know people who have gotten decent funding at American, too. (I live in DC metro area and would like to work here after school)

Urmsplitter wrote:Why no GMU? They seem pretty respected in DC area. Is GW really that much better? Am I being unreasonable in thinking I have a strong chance at GW and Georgetown? I feel like I know people who have gotten decent funding at American, too. (I live in DC metro area and would like to work here after school)

GMU and American have horrible employment statistics and you should not waste your amazing LSAT score on either school. Check out lawschooltransparency.com to compare schools' employment stats. Georgetown is the only school in DC you should consider with a 178/URM status.

Wow, thanks FrancesFarmer - this is super helpful. This is all new to me, I had not considered a JD at all since hearing about the attorney glut a few years ago - biglaw has never appealed to me and it seemed like too much money to take out, but it sure seems like that JD blows open the law library field. I thought about tacking on a JD with the MLS at Catholic, where I am finishing my MLS, since they are quite generous with scholarships and give some credit for the MLS coursework, but I'm starting to think this score might have really broadened my options....

You can only choose one minority status to apply with though, right? Do these schools make you do interviews? I'm Rashida Jones pale...

Urmsplitter wrote:Wow, thanks FrancesFarmer - this is super helpful. This is all new to me, I had not considered a JD at all since hearing about the attorney glut a few years ago - biglaw has never appealed to me and it seemed like too much money to take out, but it sure seems like that JD blows open the law library field. I thought about tacking on a JD with the MLS at Catholic, where I am finishing my MLS, since they are quite generous with scholarships and give some credit for the MLS coursework, but I'm starting to think this score might have really broadened my options....

You can only choose one minority status to apply with though, right? Do these schools make you do interviews? I'm Rashida Jones pale...

I'm sure you can select more than one check box on the "race and ethnicity" page of the application! Most schools don't interview and it doesn't matter how pale you are, haha.

If you're interested specifically in being a law librarian, you should search around on this site for threads relevant to that career path--I don't know much about it. You might be able to go to a lesser-ranked school (which will probably give you some money--in most cases your GPA would preclude you from getting any money from most decent schools but I think with your LSAT and URM status you have a good chance) and still get a job as a law librarian, but in this economy its generally really important to go to a highly ranked school with good overall employment prospects no matter what you want to do.

Check out mylsn.info--the same size is really small for people with your numbers but you might find it interesting nonetheless...

I've seen a few threads around for AA male splitters...seems like there are fewer ladies, possibly? You don't advise a retake with extended time in the hope of 180? But yeah, the sample size really does seem pretty inconsequential, I did play around with that hourumd website and had to REALLY tweak the scale. I get super intimidated by some of the softs on here, too.

Yeah, it's mainly the complete lack of sample size. The few here and there are something to look for but I wouldn't constrain yourself based on their results. Your softs aren't amazing but they are something I would qualify as better than average. Splitters have weird cycles. (I believe a no URM splitter got into YLS this year) and URMs have weird cycles. UVA is a decent safety school for you though.

A 180 versus a 178 will make zero difference. The only reason to retake is if you want to start up an LSAT prep company; also that ego boost.

sinfiery wrote:Yeah, it's mainly the complete lack of sample size. The few here and there are something to look for but I wouldn't constrain yourself based on their results. Your softs aren't amazing but they are something I would qualify as better than average. Splitters have weird cycles. (I believe a no URM splitter got into YLS this year) and URMs have weird cycles. UVA is a decent safety school for you though.

A 180 versus a 178 will make zero difference. The only reason to retake is if you want to start up an LSAT prep company; also that ego boost.

Goodluck! And report back if you can at the end of it all.

sinfiery wrote:Yeah, it's mainly the complete lack of sample size. The few here and there are something to look for but I wouldn't constrain yourself based on their results. Your softs aren't amazing but they are something I would qualify as better than average. Splitters have weird cycles. (I believe a no URM splitter got into YLS this year) and URMs have weird cycles. UVA is a decent safety school for you though.

A 180 versus a 178 will make zero difference. The only reason to retake is if you want to start up an LSAT prep company; also that ego boost.

Goodluck! And report back if you can at the end of it all.

I totally will update! You all have been super helpful. Not sure when I will apply as I have some interesting opportunities. Is there any way to gauge the cycle as it's in progress to see what year is best to apply?

What is the best place to start to get a sense of effective personal statements, most effective letter writers?

Urmsplitter wrote:I totally will update! You all have been super helpful. Not sure when I will apply as I have some interesting opportunities. Is there any way to gauge the cycle as it's in progress to see what year is best to apply?

Awesome.

The number of test takers for the LSAT/applicants sent as of X date in a given year is a great indicator for how profitable it is to apply in a particular cycle during the year. More test takers = worse, less = better. This last cycle saw a huge drop off in test takers so there may not be a dramatic difference again in this cycle from last year but it will likely be just as good if not slightly better to apply in. We aren't sure when or if the trend will reverse but it will likely take 1-2 years at a minimum.

The personal statement forum on here is a pretty great resource. I would also check out Asha Rangappa's blog (she's the admissions dean for Yale) for personal statement as well as general admissions advice. As far as letters of recommendation, you want a minimum of 2, with at least one of them being academic. The main thing that makes someone a good letter writer is that they are familiar with and can write about your work and what you can bring to law school.

And if you do decide to apply, please keep this thread updated because I think you'll have an interesting cycle to watch.

Just a point of minutia - looking at the linked LSN graph, the HYS accept appears to be a fake acct. It's also commented with huge spammed comments, causing it to take forever to load. One less reliable data point to work with (not that LSN would really be all that predictive for you in the first place).